Baby, It's Murder — Mickey Spillane

Mike Hammer's deadly final adventure challenges everything we knew about the enduring noir detective in this gripping finale with a shocking twist.

The concluding Hammer novel begins with a 21st-century funeral before flashing back to summer, 1973.

Nine years after the events of Dig Two Graves, Hammer takes another unlikely vacation - this time on Long Island to help look after his partner Velda Sterling's seventeen-year-old sibling, Mikki.

Mikki must deal with the attention of two boys vying for her affection â€" Hammer preferring the good kid from a wealthy family over the long-haired doper with an Easy Rider vibe. When Mikki gets hooked on heroin, Hammer â€" filled with contempt for dope dealers â€" goes on a rampage. He will find those behind the drug racket and teach them what shooting up is all about.

But a final resolution awaits him in the future at that funeral...